The Trump administration is making changes to a $42 billion broadband subsidy program that will benefit satellite internet providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink, but some state and federal officials worry the technology isn’t robust enough to connect Americans on a mass scale and at affordable rates.
It said satellite-based broadband services from Starlink and others will take a long time to impact the terrestrial network businesses of Jio and Airtel, who also have their own satcom plans.
Separately, Trai has sought views on whether DoT’s December 2023 order should be the benchmark for determining spectrum pricing on `a per MHz basis’ for fixed satellite services offered by LEO/MEO constellation operators.
Both BIF and SIA India believe such a move will ring in regulatory clarity and create a more conducive environment for attracting top dollars from the biggest global satellite constellation operators such as Eutelsat OneWeb, Elon Musk’s Starlink, Amazon-Kuiper, SES and Telesat.
The joint venture, approved by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in April and June this year, authorizes Orbit Connect to operate satellites over India.
